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 News from Around the Americas | February 2006 
Tempers Fray in Bolivia Over Used Clothing Imports
 Helen Popper - Reuters
| | Bolivian women rummage through heaps of second-hand clothing at the muddy, makeshift market in the city of El Alto on the outskirts of La Paz. (Reuters/David Mercado) |
El Alto, Bolivia - That Gap pullover you gave to charity might have ended up on sale at El Alto's muddy, makeshift market where mountains of imported second-hand clothes help dress the people of the impoverished Bolivian city.
Stretched out on plastic sheets among the puddles, men and women rifle through heaps of tangled tracksuits, velvet jackets and sweaters, hoping to pick up a quality brandname for less than a dollar. The scene at the market in El Alto near La Paz is played out at markets around the country.
"My baby is dressed in second-hand clothes," says young mother Victoria Bautista, gesturing at her sleeping daughter. "It helps us to economize and you sometimes find things that are much better quality than Bolivian-made stuff."
The flood of used clothing pouring into Bolivia -- much of it contraband -- angers local manufacturers. And though Bolivia is South America's poorest country, critics say accepting cast-offs from the United States and Europe is an affront to national pride.
"Our ancestors did not use second-hand clothes. It was seen as an offense to our dignity and in Aymara culture it is bad luck to wear someone else's clothes," said Emilio Gutierrez, who represents small businesses in El Alto and is leading the fight against the trade. "A lot of it is rubbish," he added.
At the start of this month, with protests by retailers going on outside, the leftist government of President Evo Morales extended a decree allowing imports by six months.
While that was too much for the manufacturers, who accused Morales of breaking election pledges to protect local firms and create jobs, it was not enough for the second-hand clothing retailers who have vowed to defend their business to the last.
"The extension of six months was welcome, but we don't want temporary solutions. We want permanent solutions to protect our livelihood," said Rene Arispe, president of the national used clothing commission during a rowdy rally in La Paz.
Amid hisses by passersby and shouts of "Out with second-hand rubbish", Arispe said the main beneficiaries of the used clothing business were the poor.
"There are many thousands of families who embrace this sector. This business benefits the poor people of the country who cannot afford to buy new clothes," he said.
While many of the hundreds of protesting vendors wore the traditional Indian dress of a wide skirt, shawl and bowler hat, others were kitted out in the kind of branded sportswear that is hard to find and expensive to buy new in Bolivia.
While a Bolivian-made shirt typically costs 60 or 70 Bolivian pesos ($7 or $8.60), a similar second-hand one can be had for as little as 5 Bolivian pesos (61 U.S. cents). "There is no point of comparison," said Gutierrez.
MIDDLE-CLASS CUSTOMERS
It is not hard to see the appeal of the business in a country where the average monthly salary is about $115 and 60 percent live in poverty, although critics are quick to point out that the middle classes are also big customers.
"Only a third of second-hand clothing coming from the first world is bought by the poor. The rest is bought by people with high or medium incomes," said Gary Rodriguez, general manager of the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Commerce (IBCE).
"What started out as a well-intentioned measure to help poor sectors of the population has become a lucrative business for some and, at the same time, a nightmare for the clothing industry for those who have lost their jobs," he said.
Second-hand clothes end up on El Alto market after a long journey through a number of middlemen. Charities in wealthy countries commonly sell on excess donations to export agents who ship tons of clothing to poor countries where they are sold to retailers by import agents.
Aid agency Oxfam, which campaigns on trade issues, says the used-clothing business is worth $1 billion a year globally, while in Bolivia it is estimated to be worth $40 million.
The charity, which also accepts donations of second-hand clothes, said the trade is a dominant feature in poor African counties with low purchasing power, and in some nations accounts for 50 percent of the rag trade in volume terms.
In a 2005 report it conceded that it could put further strain on local textile industries, a view taken by many of Bolivia's neighbors who ban such imports.
But according to a survey by Bolivia's IBCE, only 7 percent of second-hand clothing imports are actually legal. It says a total ban would help stamp out contraband.
"What we are asking for from this government is a full-on fight against contraband," said Gutierrez. The second-hand clothes sellers say they also want an end to the contraband trade.
But despite the controversy, for many shoppers a bargain is a bargain, even it was made in Thailand, given to charity in the United States and smuggled into Bolivia through a Chilean port.
"I do worry about the state of the economy, but this is a way to help people who don't have much money," said student Marianelly Ribera, huddling under a tarpaulin in El Alto. "I don't come all the time, but occasionally something grabs your attention and you pick up a few nice things." |
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